The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore is one of the oldest churches in Rome built in 440 AD by Pope Sixtus III.
It was one of four great pilgrimage churches in Rome, and is a mind-boggling awe-inspiring monument.
Inside, mosaics from the 5th century narrate 36 scenes from the Old Testament, and the wood ceiling is gilded with the first gold brought from the New World.